Over the weekend, I logged into my Verizon FiOS account online to review my service contract and make sure everything was in order. It’s setup on auto-pay, I get bills electronically sent to me, but I still like checking in every once in a while to make sure everything is in order. It’s not crucial that I check in every month, as I would with a bank account or credit card account, but I still like to pop my head in every quarter or so. This time, I did it in conjunction with a letter I received about the rates going up. I don’t remember the exact wording of the letter but the gist was that my internet service was going to be more expensive.

When I did log in, I found that there were completely new plans in place. My existing plan, some form of a “double play” of Internet and television, was still available but the individual “plays” were now different. My usual bill was always somewhere in the range of $160, which paid for internet, television, a DVR and a regular cable box. I opted for the higher level of internet service, 25/25, but otherwise I had the lowest level of cable television that offered High Definition. That, however, wasn’t the interesting part… I learned that my initial two year contract had now expired. I was, in a sense, a cable television and internet free agent.

I normally take this time to compare rates with other providers, which means Comcast, but after reviewing the offers, I found I could get more HD television stations, the same internet, and pay $30 less than what I was paying now. And there was no contract (they did say we could do a contract to lock in the pricing). Save $30 a month to do little more than click a few buttons? I think that’s a winning situation for us.

The lesson here is that whenever you exit a contract, spend a few moments to see what sort of offers are out there. In our case I went with the same provider, only because I knew the alternatives were comparable, and that means no wasting a day and waiting for an installation. With the economy in the shape it is now, you can usually get some great deals on almost anything.